Public Pension Reserve Research Articles

A State‐centred Explanation of the Finance‐Pension Nexus: New Zealand's Pension Reforms as a Typical Case

AbstractThis study analyses the decision‐making processes that led to the introduction of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (a public pension reserve and investment fund), as well as the KiwiSaver Scheme, which is New Zealand's first soft‐compulsory private pension scheme. Why and how are governments engaged in the development of funded pensions? These are the questions this study addresses. In analyzing the finance‐pension nexus in New Zealand, this article adopts a state‐centric approach. It argues that pension funding reforms are shaped by state officials who pursue their own motives because policymakers frame funded pensions as an instrument for achieving broader fiscal, economic and financial policy outcomes. Because New Zealand is a typical case of a state‐centric explanation, a study of its pension funding reforms helps in finding causal links between finance and pensions.

Management of Pension Funds: the Case of Portugal

The concern with the long term viability of most of existing government-operated pension systems, due to demographic changes, have let to various proposals fpr pension reform, many of which have already been put into action. However, pension reform remains a highly controversial issue due to its complexity. This article brings attention to the management perfromance issue concerning funded systems. Detailed evidence and discussion is given to both investment performance results of public pension reserve funds, within the Social Security system, and private pension funds in Portugal. Policy implications are also analyses and discussed.